


Only By This Meeting (A New World Is Born)

by ArwenLune, blackglass



Series: Podficcification [26]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Bechdel Test Pass, Community: pt-lightning, Female Friendship, Gen, PT-Lightning Challenge: Round 4, Podfic, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 00:11:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1707689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArwenLune/pseuds/ArwenLune, https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackglass/pseuds/blackglass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>[Story text AND podfic within!]</b>
</p><blockquote>
  <p>"No offense, but isn't this kind of overkill? I mean, the whole getting my important stuff stolen sucks, but I don't really want to like, order a hit or anything."</p>
  <p>"Oh good, I'm on holiday."</p>
  <p>"You know, most sane people would deny the hit thing was an option."</p>
  <p>"Then again, most sane people, if believing a hit was an option, wouldn't imply that I'm not sane."</p>
  <p>Darcy raised her hand for a rebuttal, then lowered it again.</p>
  <p>"Point."</p>
</blockquote>Sometimes friends can be found in unexpected places.<p>A Pod-Together Lightning Round 4 Project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only By This Meeting (A New World Is Born)

**Author's Note:**

> Music: "Amsterdam" by Imagine Dragons.

 

  


[mp3 w/ music](http://blackglass.parakaproductions.com/podfic/only%20by%20this%20meeting%20\(a%20new%20world%20is%20born\).mp3) | [mp3 w/o music](http://blackglass.parakaproductions.com/podfic/only%20by%20this%20meeting%20\(a%20new%20world%20is%20born\)-%20no%20music.mp3)

"Hi!"

"Hallo..?"

"All right, so I got mugged, right?"

"Oh, we gaan er ook maar gewoon vanuit dat ik je kan verstaan?"

"--well, I guess I didn't really get _mugged_ , I mean I would have tasered his ass, or at least tried to--"

"Wat is er met muggen?"

"--but some guy distracted me while the other one stole my bag, right? I didn't even get to my hostel yet, so like ALL my stuff is in there! I'm left with like my clothes and my toothbrush! So while I was all ready to have a great time in this fine city of Amsterdam, I'd really like you to direct me to your local law enforcement."

"IIIk heb geen idee wat je van me wil."

“Uh...eeek pren ee-day jer mah vell?”

"Wat?"

"Uh, what?"

***

"Thanks for letting me crash!" Darcy said to the desk agent, handing over a folded blanket. With all her things stolen she'd been unable to check into her hostel the night before, and it had been late. So after reporting the theft she'd asked if she could crash in the waiting room of the police station. The agent on night shift had given her a considering look, then apparently decided sending Darcy out onto the street at midnight wasn't a good idea. He'd dug up a blanket for her and even gotten her some weird waffle thing from the staff vending machine.

"You're welcome. Are you going to be okay?" the desk agent answered.

Jane had said that she was going to arrange for an old study friend to help Darcy out, so she just needed to go to a nearby cafe to meet with him.

"Yeah, there's a--" Darcy handwaved, "Somebody localish who is going to help me out."

She promised the desk agent that she'd drop by the station to check if there was news about her case before she left Amsterdam, and walked out.

Waiting for her outside the police station was Natasha Romanoff. She was doing that cat-like thing of looking like she belonged, even though the local clothes styles didn't fit her any better than they did Darcy. It was all made for people about a head taller than they both were. Natasha had dyed her hair to a light brown and gained a few pounds, softening the angles of her face. She looked like she could be a local, or maybe an exchange student. Had to be a secret agent thing. Darcy could never quite shed 'tourist'.

"Holy shit! When Jane said she'd get me some help she wasn't fucking around!"

"Hello," Natasha smiled. A real smile as far as Darcy could tell, or at least a high quality fake. "Apparently Jane's friend is at a conference. Thor called, and I was in the neighbourhood."

Darcy had met Natasha twice before, both at Avengers-and-friends type get togethers. They'd maybe exchanged ten words that she could remember. (Not that that necessarily meant anything; Stark had been in charge of the bar.) Darcy's impression had been of somebody sleek, sophisticated, dangerous. Somebody who definitely wouldn't be found on the cobble streets of Amsterdam wearing threadbare jeans and well-worn Doc Marten boots. And yet, here she was, gesturing for Darcy to come along.

Darcy slung her rucksack onto her back and hastened to follow.

"No offense, but isn't this kind of overkill? I mean, the whole getting my important stuff stolen sucks, but I don't really want to like, order a hit or anything."

"Oh good, I'm on holiday."

"You know, most sane people would deny the hit thing was an option."

"Then again, most sane people, if believing a hit was an option, wouldn't imply that I'm not sane."

Darcy raised her hand for a rebuttal, then lowered it again.

"Point."

***

Natasha picked a cafe with a small terrace along a canal, and they settled in the morning sun with coffee and croissants. They were the only ones on the terrace, so getting overheard wasn't a concern and Natasha seemed relaxed.

"We heard about--" Darcy blurted when she'd finished her first croissant, because the fall of SHIELD was too big not to be acknowledged. "The management thing. Is it... I mean— Are you... okay?"

Natasha tilted her head a little, seeming to actually consider it. "I am fine, under the circumstances. It isn't the first time steady ground turned out to be quicksand."

"And the band is all okay too?"

Darcy had already heard from Thor that the Avengers were all alive, but she wasn't sure if Thor, who threw his whole heart into allegiances, could fully appreciate the complicated relationship people like Natasha and Barton might have had with SHIELD.

"They are all fine. A little unsettled."

"Sorry to hear about Fury."

"Were you?" Natasha didn't sound suspicious, but maybe a little surprised.

"I never met the man, but Thor was sorry to hear about him, and apart from that giant blind spot about his family, he has good judgement about people."

Natasha nodded in acceptance. She was glad Thor wasn't here, because he would probably have sensed that she wasn't mourning the former Director of SHIELD, and that she was eager to move the conversation to other matters. He might not have said anything, but he would have known, and he wasn't currently need to know about Fury's status.

"How is the big guy settling in, anyway? Must be strange to suddenly have him around fulltime."

"He's doing great! Man, it is so much fun to explore London with him. You just meet the coolest people. Last week we ended up in an hour-long all-out war in the park with a bunch of kids who had supersoakers."

Natasha chuckled. It wasn't hard to picture. For all that he was physically imposing and his gaze could remind you he was thousands of years old, Thor could also completely and endearingly throw himself into a moment.

"He was sorry he couldn't come with me to Amsterdam, actually. He's doing a lot of history reading, and he wanted to see the Anne Frank House. Kinda wish he could have come with me, then I would still have my stuff," Darcy reflected.

***

Natasha dug around in a messenger bag and produced a folder with cartoon flowers on it.

"Here."

"Is that a.. whoa, how did you get this so fast?" The folder held a temporary passport, a credit card, a phone, and other assorted documentation to replace what had been stolen.

"Resources," Natasha said blandly. Darcy thought there was an amused gleam in her eyes. She held up the strip of birth control pills.

"Not gonna lie, that's a little creepy."

"Thor told me what you'd need," Natasha said, shrugging.

Darcy repressed a cringe until she remembered the time Thor had asked about Jane's birth control pills. The explanation had been met with a ten-minute commentary on the various 'Remedies for ladies' women took on Asgard. It was not a shameful topic to him, so she resolved not to feel embarrassed.

"...IIII'm not gonna dwell on that, because I have a credit card and so tonight, I will have a hotel room. With a bath."

Sure, a proper hotel hadn't fit into her financial planning for this little holiday, but right now she couldn't stand the idea of having to share a room with strangers, so a hotel it was.

***

When they'd finished their third 'koffie verkeerd' (which apparently meant 'coffee the wrong way' according to the waitress, due to having more milk than coffee and Dutch people being particular about their coffee) Natasha paid up and picked up her bag.

"Right. Good luck with it. Call me if you run into trouble, my number is in that phone."

"Wait, wait, Natasha?" Darcy said, her voice rising a little. "You're leaving already? I thought you said you were on holiday"

Natasha nodded.

"Look um, I know we're not exactly friends and you probably think I'm kind of an idiot for falling for some stupid 'Oh look over there' trick and getting my bag stolen, but um... the whole thing was pretty upsetting, and I could really do with a friendly face right now."

Natasha looked at Darcy, her head tilted slightly, and it took Darcy a long moment to realise that the other woman seemed fascinated with the suggestion that she might constitute a friendly face to Darcy.

"What I'm saying is, please stay? At least for tonight. Or even just," Darcy gestured, feeling a little frantic at the thought of watching the other woman leave, "even just until I can get a hotel room to hole up in this afternoon."

Natasha thought about it for a long moment, studying Darcy. The girl wasn't wrong about Thor; he did have good judgement, and you couldn't hide your true nature from him. He had vouched for Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis, though not for Erik Selvig ("He is not of our enemy, however his mind is still fragile") and Ian Boothby ("His motives for assisting the Lady Darcy did not pertain to Science. He has already been dismissed from her presence.")

What this meant was though Darcy wasn't cleared to know about the current status of SHIELD's surviving high level agents, Natasha didn't have to pretend that she was going straight back to Paris.

"I can stay at least tonight," she finally said. "But I do have a few things to handle while I'm here, so I can't be with you all the time."

She'd planned to go to her safehouse here in Amsterdam. It was a personal one, not on SHIELD's books, so it should be secure, but it needed checking.

That had the additional bonus that she would probably find Fury there.

Their last mission together had been the week before in Kiev, and they'd agreed to make their own way to Amsterdam to reduce the chances of being seen together. Natasha had flown to Paris and spent a few days massaging contacts for the next mission while Fury drove himself to Amsterdam.

They got along well, mutual respect and long association making for a comfortable partnership, but they were in each other's space a lot. Maybe he'd appreciate a bit of alone time while she hung out with Darcy.

"Oh God, thank you," Darcy sighed. "And I was planning to take a nap anyway, once I have a room? So you aren't stuck with me constantly?"

"That works," Natasha nodded. She could see if Fury was around while Darcy caught up on the sleep she had no doubt missed in the police station waiting room. "Are you here for touristy things or do you want to go relax in the park?"

"Ohh, can we?" Darcy shouldered her rucksack and they strolled along the canal together. "I am mostly here to take a break from Jane, tourist stuff is optional."

***

"--so I'm always a little torn about being a tourist. On the one hand, if lots of people want to see something that's probably because it's pretty cool. I mean, yeah I have to go see the Anne Frank House. On the other hand I really don't like when my presence as a tourist feels like it warps the place, you know? Like, there's lots of people here just living their lives, and having tourists here pulls their world into a different shape?"

Natasha nodded, gesturing at the button in the tram to indicate Darcy should push it for the next stop.

"So I always feel a little self-conscious about it. I want to go to non-touristy places, but then I feel like my presence is disrupting things. I try to pass, and I know I can't, and I kind of want to stick around until I feel like I do pass."

"To feel like you have the right to be there and claim space?"

"Huh." Darcy tilted her head. "Maybe, yeah."

"Well, this is a good start - going outside of the central canal area."

They swiped their cards and got off the tram, strolling into the Vondelpark. They'd picked up some drinks and fruit in a supermarket, so when they found a nice secluded spot in the early summer sun they settled down.

"So is this a holiday or a getaway for you?" Natasha asked, propping her head up on her bag. She lazily rubbed her hands together to spread sunscreen, and then rubbed it over her face.

"More the second than the first," Darcy said, cutting the tag off the pair of cheap shades she'd picked up and putting them on. "I mean, I really like London. I like Thor. I love Jane, in a sort of 'you're my friend and adorable and terrifyingly smart kind of way.' But I graduated two years ago and I'm still her intern, my pay is literally pocket money, and I'm basically her and Erik's caretaker. Not exactly what I intended to be doing with my life, you know?"

"So you're having a quarter-life crisis?" Natasha asked, a little amused but also sympathetic.

"I guess so," Darcy grinned, breaking open the packet of grapes and putting them down in between herself and Natasha. "I want to do more with my life than be the snarky sidekick who provides coffee and poptarts, but at the same time I worry that after the past few years, some job in an office somewhere that doesn't involve hanging with superheroes and geniuses might be unbearably boring."

Natasha nodded, turning her face to the sun. She couldn't imagine her own life like that either. A few low pressure weeks of exploring what Natasha Romanoff liked was fun. The prospect of the rest of her life being like that made her want to climb the walls.

"I guess I thought I might see if your company had a spot for me somewhere, maybe as a political analyst, but that plan got nixed," Darcy said with a shrug.

Natasha wondered if Fury might be interested in hearing about that. There was a decentralised effort to set up splinter cells of trusted people; Maria Hill working with Stark and Pepper Potts, Coulson's team, Steve and Sam, Clint currently in the wind to link up with Woo and Carter. And Fury and herself, of course. They were all still working on HYDRA from their own angles. In time there would probably be a use for a sharp poli-sci grad who could think on her feet and was already accustomed to dealing with Weird Shit.

She couldn't say any of that though.

"How about you? Having a quarter life crisis too?" Darcy asked.

"Not exactly," Natasha said, consideringly. "I'm a little older."

Officially she was 30. For the very few in the know, she was closer to 60, though she thought that maybe it was almost the same as Steve. He was technically in his nineties, but in actually lived years he was 27. Natasha hadn't been in the ice, but she supposed with the years she hadn't been able to make any kind of decisions for herself, she might as well actually be 30.

"But your life got turned upside down?" Darcy asked softly.

"Yeah, you can say that again. I guess it is a little similar. The future is suddenly a lot more open than I thought it would be."

"You know, I wanted to ask - I mean you should totally feel free to tell me to mind my own business.. not that I don't think you'd feel free to do that anyway, but..." Darcy stilled at Natasha's raised eyebrow. "Right. I wanted to ask if the whole info dump thing got people killed. I mean, that had to include people on missions, right? I know Thor said that Barton is okay, but..."

"There was a warning signal," Natasha said, because that was all she could say. In truth not all information had been released. The algorithm that had been written for the infodump had released only inactive covers, and held back personal information about agents. A couple of people had had to scramble to get safe, but as far as she was aware nobody had been killed.

Her own covers were burned... or at least her SHIELD covers. She still had some soft covers that had been her private fallback, just as she still had some safe houses and stashes that hadn't been on SHIELD’s books. They were coming in handy now.

"I guess that's something," Darcy said. "I mean, there were probab—ohhh hiiii!" Her voice rose to a thrilled pitch as a dog leaned into its leash to get at the two women. It looked like one of the polar breeds, like a Samoyed but grey, and in the lanky puppy stage.

Natasha looked at the owner, a woman in her fifties who clicked her tongue to call the dog's attention back to herself. Natasha gave her best endearing smile and shaped her lips around the unfamiliar language.

"Mag ik... u hond aaien... alstublief?"

"Oh, natuurlijk!" the woman smiled, and gave the leash enough slack that the dog could reach them.

The puppy squirmed under Darcy and Natasha's hands, whining and wiggling and generally encouraging the fuss without standing still long enough to actually get pet properly. After a minute, Natasha smiled and straightened up and thanked the owner.

"You didn't say you spoke Dutch," Darcy said, surprised, when the woman had left with her dog.

"Oh, only a few words and phrases. Enough to be polite, get some goodwill for trying."

"'Can I pet your dog' is pretty specific though."

"Blame Barton. He can ask that in 17 languages" Natasha grinned.

***

They talked some more about Darcy's ambitions. Natasha felt for her; she was intelligent and perceptive, and clearly under-employed in what she was doing right now. Neither of them could really imagine what it would be like to work in an office though, far from Gods and heroes and having to get the news about alien invasions from the evening news.

"Maybe you should send your resume to Pepper Potts," Natasha suggested at one point, eating the last of the grapes. "I can't imagine Stark Industries wouldn't have a place for a junior political analyst."

"I hate the idea of getting a job because Thor likes me," Darcy made a face.

"Pepper would never do that. If she hired you it would be because she genuinely thought you will be useful. But being Thor's friend might get your resume a more attentive reading, and I wouldn't turn that down if I were you."

"I'll think about it. It's certainly one of the more appealing options, and I'd still have the chance to see Thor and Jane now and then. New York is pretty intimidating though."

They packed up and made their way to the hotel Darcy had picked.

"Natasha? I'm – I mean – thank you," Darcy blurted after she'd checked in, surprising Natasha with a hug. It took her a second to respond. Prolonged exposure to Clint, Steve and Sam Wilson had gotten her accustomed to being around tactile people, but friendly physical contact had not been part of her life until a few years ago, and it did not come naturally to her.

"You're welcome," she said after a moment. "I enjoyed today. I'll be back tonight."

***

Fury was indeed at her safehouse, which was a relief. She sometimes still had nightmares about losing him, and she didn't like splitting up to travel.

"I want to take a few days," she said to him. Managed not to make it a request, even though the urge to call him 'sir' was still – always – on her lips. "I'd like to spend some time with Darcy Lewis."

He was sitting on the old sofa in her safehouse, looking at her with amusement over the rim of his beer glass. Grimbergen Triple. It was interesting to see this side of the man, the side that liked Amsterdam so much more than Kiev.

Life was still damn rough and she knew he was still hurting from the betrayal and downfall of his organisation, but he'd gone out to get some fancy beers, and he looked pretty content right now. The Amsterdam population was diverse enough that he could blend in with a little effort. Heavy rimmed glasses, his prosthetic eye – he wasn't completely unrecognisable, probably wouldn't be without plastic surgery, but he was unremarkable.

"Having a good time?"

She tilted her head, registering her own reflexive urge to deflect, distract, deny. _Don't admit to having a preference or an attachment, or it will be taken away immediately._ But that was a long time ago, and Fury wasn't that man.

"Yes, I am," she made herself say.

"Go ahead," he said, a little warmer than expected. "We don't need to move until Friday. Check-in according to the usual protocol, stay out of trouble. But-" he added, an afterthought, "call if you need me."

She blinked at that, having half expected 'if you get into trouble you're on your own'.

"Thank you."

He tipped his beerglass toward her and took another sip. "Want one? There's more in the fridge."

***

"Had fun?" Darcy asked when Natasha turned up at the hotel room that night. She let the other woman in and looked her up and down, noting the subtly pleased expression on Natasha's face. "Of the assassination or the date kind?"

"Yes," Natasha said pointedly, with a 'no further questions' expression.

"Ohh, somebody nice? Another secret agent type?"

Darcy was immune to the expression, apparently.

"Was it like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? Or like— oh, oh, was it Bond, James Bond?" Darcy bounced a little. "Were you shaken, not stirred?" Her impression was rather good.

Natasha had to ask.

"Are you still talking assassination or date? And are you sure you want to ask me?"

"You wouldn't kill me, I'm too cute," Darcy said blithely. "Anyway, have you _seen_ Thor's sad face? It's like a superpower all in itself. Trust me, you are much better off putting up with me than with Thor following you around being all sad at you."

Natasha thought that might actually be true. Though it probably wouldn't be Thor's sad face she'd have to fear but his righteous fury for killing somebody under his protection. Maybe living with the guy had made Darcy forget Thor was a warrior, but Natasha still had the images of his berserker rage in her mind.

"You seem to be feeling better," she said instead.

"Caught up on sleep. Got over the whole 'My stuff got stolen' thing. I'm here – I'm gonna have a good time."

"Well, I have a few days to spend with you, if you don't mind the company," Natasha said, strangely uncertain now she'd said the words. All of a sudden it seemed presumptuous.

"Are you kidding? We're going to have an _awesome_ time, you and me," Darcy said.

***

Natasha Romanoff was sixty years old (approximately), nine years free from the Red Room (mercifully), and two months unemployed (marginally). She'd never had a female friend. She'd never explored musea and parks, browsed through odd little shops, strolled along canals or watched street artists just because she wanted to. She'd never learned to cycle.

She'd never gone clubbing without a mission or a target, never danced with a guy because she felt like it and cut him off with a cool tilt of her eyebrow when he thought that should lead to more. She'd never fallen into the back of a taxi with a giggling friend, leaning together half drunk and giddy with the echo of the beat still coursing through her body, the bass thrumming low through her stomach.

She'd never known what it was like to drink beer in the park, surrounded by people with picnic blankets and juggling balls and guitars. To lay back and close her eyes against the early summer sun and talk about anything from bras to geopolitics.

At the end of the week she needed to get back to Fury and their next mission, and saying goodbye to Darcy turned out to be unexpectedly hard.

"Hey, if you do end up in New York, give me a call," she heard herself say. "I've got a place there."

Darcy darted in for a brief, hard hug. This time, Natasha managed to hug back.

**Author's Note:**

> Dutch-to-English Translations:
> 
> -"Oh, we're just assuming I can understand you?"  
> -"What is that about mosquitoes?"  
> -"III have no idea what you want from me"
> 
>  
> 
> Podficcer's Notes:
> 
> This was my first ever podfic challenge and first ever collaboration. I could not have asked for a better partner and a million hugs and kisses go out to ArwenLune for crafting such a beautiful story, creating the cover art, and for talking me down from my fits of neuroses while editing this podfic.
> 
> Writer's notes:  
> It was my first try on challenge and collaboration too and I had so much fun! Thank you Blackglass for keeping me on track with the story and for your wonderful recording and edit. I really enjoyed how knowing you were going to be Darcy's voice helped shape the story :-)


End file.
